The present invention relates generally to plastic fasteners and more particularly to devices used in the dispensing of plastic fasteners.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,078 to A. R. Bone, which is incorporated herein by reference, there are disclosed several different types of plastic fasteners, or attachments, which are fabricated as part of continuously connected ladder stock. In each instance, the fastener has an H-shape, and the ladder stock is formed from two elongated and continuous plastic side members coupled together by a plurality of plastic cross links, the cross links preferably being equidistantly spaced. The stock may be produced from flexible plastics material including nylon, polypropylene and other similar materials by molding or by stamping.
Either manually or with the aid of specifically designed devices, individual fasteners may be dispensed from the ladder stock to couple buttons to fabric, merchandising tags to articles of commerce, or, in general, any two desired articles. In those instances where the dispensing device has dual needles, the attachments severed from the stock can be used like staples to secure objects and items.
Specifically designed devices for dispensing individual plastic fasteners are well known in the art. Plastic fastener dispensing devices are commonly used to sever individual plastic fasteners from continuously connected ladder stock and to attach the severed individual plastic fasteners to items.
In commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,816, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed an apparatus for dispensing attachments from continuously connected ladder stock of the type comprising a pair of plastic side members coupled together by a plurality of plastic cross links. The apparatus includes a mount, a support movably mounted on the mount, and a pair of carrier blocks mounted on the support. A needle block is mounted on each carrier block and a hollow, slotted needle is mounted on each needle block. A feed mechanism including a pair of feed wheels, is mounted on the support for advancing the ladder stock into the hollow slotted needles and a pair feed tracks, one for each hollow slotted needle, are provided through which the ladder stock passes from the feed wheels into the pair of hollow slotted needles. A pair of knives are provided for severing an attachment from the ladder stock, and a pair of ejector rods are provided for ejecting the severed attachment through the hollow slotted needles. The carrier blocks are disposed parallel to each other and movable sideways relative to each other so that the spacing between the hollow slotted needles can be changed for different applications. The feed wheels are disposed parallel to each other and are capable of being moved sideways relative to each other so that their spacing can be changed to accommodate different widths of ladder stock. In order to provide a path for the ladder stock form the feed wheels to the hollow slotted needles for different feed wheel spacings and/or needle spacings, each feed track assembly includes a pivotally mounted section.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,816 is well known in the art and is commonly referred to in the art simply as a variable needle system (VNS), or module.
Variable needle systems of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,816 are commonly used in the art to secure a product for sale, such as a toy, hardware item or houseware item, onto a display card using one or more plastic fasteners. As can be appreciated, when used to secure a product for sale onto a display card, plastic fasteners are commonly referred to as elastic staples in the art.
It should be noted that the use of a variable needle system of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,816 to secure a product of sale onto a display card using one or more elastic staples provides numerous advantages. Specifically, the capability of such a variable needle system to continuously dispense elastic staples from a roll of fastener stock increases the productivity in which an operator is able to secure products for sale onto associated display cards, which is highly desirable. Accordingly, variable needle systems of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,816 are commonly used on assembly lines for packaging products.
It should also be noted that the use of elastic staples to secure a product of sale onto a display card provides numerous advantages.
As an example, the particular construction of an elastic staple creates aesthetic benefits which are highly desirable. Specifically, the use of elastic staples enables the product for sale to be mounted onto a display card, thereby enabling the product to be presented to the potential customer in an ideal packaging to see, feel and manipulate the product at the point of purchase. Furthermore, it has been found that the elastic staple is barely visible when securing a product for sale onto its associated display card.
As another example, the elasticity of the staple allows for the fastener to be used in a wide range of applications and in conjunction with a variety of differently sized products, which is highly desirable.
As another example, the elasticity of the staple allows for the fastener to conform tightly against the product for sale, thereby creating a strong and durable attachment of the product for sale onto its associated display card, which is highly desirable. As a result, the product remains securely fastened onto the display card until after purchase.
Although well known and widely used in the art for securing products for sale onto display cards, variable needle systems of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,816 suffer from a few notable drawbacks.
As a first drawback, the variable needle system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,816 is often fixedly mounted onto a support structure. Accordingly, in use, the operator is required to manually urge the items to be coupled up against the pair of needles in such a manner so that the pair of needles penetrates through the items. As a consequence, it has been found that the user is at risk of inadvertently contacting the sharpened end of the needles, which is highly undesirable.
As a second drawback, the variable needle system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,816 is constructed so that the operator can insert the needles into and through the items to be coupled at variable depths. Specifically, the operator is unable to regulate the degree of insertion of the needles through the items. As a result, if the needles are inserted too far through the items, the fastener can become overstretched and, as a result, will break, which is highly undesirable. Furthermore, if the needles are not inserted far enough through the items, the fastener is unable to penetrate through the items, thereby precluding proper coupling, which is highly undesirable.
Accordingly, in commonly assigned and presently pending patent application Ser. No. 09/867,264 to Steven E. Flannery et al. (hereinafter referred to as the ""264 patent application), there is disclosed a system for dispensing a fastener from a reel of fastener stock so as to secure a product onto a display card. The system includes a module for dispensing the fastener, a counterbalance for supporting the module, a mounting stand for supporting the counterbalance, a reel holder for supporting the reel of fastener stock and an anvil for supporting the product and display card.
Although well-known and widely used in commerce, the system disclosed in the ""264 patent application suffers from a pair of notable drawbacks.
As a first drawback, the system disclosed in the ""264 patent application allows for the free and unlimited movement of the module in any direction. However, the system disclosed in the ""264 patent application is traditionally used in an assembly line environment which only requires linear, vertical (i.e., straight up and down) displacement of the module. As a result, the operator of the module often introduces non-vertical displacement forces onto the module. The application of non-vertical displacement forces onto the module reduces the efficiency of the movements which the operator is required to undertake, which is highly undesirable. In addition, the application of non-vertical displacement forces onto the module introduces inconsistencies in the position where the operator inserts the needles of the module through the items to be coupled together, which is highly undesirable.
As a second drawback, the system disclosed in the ""264 patent application allows for the unlimited displacement of the module in the downward direction. As can be appreciated, displacing the module too far in the downward direction can potentially damage the objects to be coupled and/or the module needles, which is highly undesirable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system for dispensing a plastic fastener from a reel of fastener stock to couple together two or more items.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system as described above which includes a module for dispensing the plastic fastener from the reel of fastener stock.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system as described above which includes a stand onto which the module is mounted.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system as described above which enables an operator to displace the module relative to the stand.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a system as described above which limits the range of motion by which an operator is able to displace the module relative to the stand.
Accordingly, there is provided a system for dispensing a plastic fastener from a reel of fastener stock to couple together two or more objects, said system comprising a module for dispensing the plastic fastener from the reel of fastener stock to couple together the two or more objects, and a mounting stand on which said module is mounted, said mounting stand limiting said module to linear displacement.
Various other features and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, a specific embodiment for practicing the invention. This embodiment will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.